Liquid containment apparatus with flexible wall supports

ABSTRACT

A fluid containment apparatus with a floor and a side wall is provided. A wall support is included that supports the side wall and can be moved between an initial supporting position and a collapsed position. The side wall is movable from an initial containment position to a collapsed state to allow access for vehicles or other objects to the floor. The wall support and side wall are subsequently movable back to their initial positions. In some arrangements, the wall support is movable back to the initial supporting position from the collapsed position but is not movable beyond the initial supporting position. Additionally or alternatively, in other embodiments the wall support remains in the collapsed position until a returning force is applied to move the wall support back.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a fluid containment apparatusthat can be used to capture fluid that is spilled or otherwise releasedduring a maintenance procedure or other activity. More particularly, thepresent application involves a fluid containment apparatus that includesa wall support that can be lowered to allow a side wall to be lowered tofacilitate entry or exit of a vehicle or other object onto the floor ofthe apparatus.

BACKGROUND

Portable, foldable containment devices are known for use in acting as aprimary or secondary containment barrier to capture spills or run-offsof hazardous chemicals such as petrochemicals. The containment devicegenerally includes a floor surrounded by a side wall that is supportedby a number of wall supports. The containment device may be constructedin order to allow a vehicle, such as a tanker truck, to be driven intothe containment device so that a maintenance or transfer procedure canbe completed. The side wall must be capable of being disassembled,folding, or otherwise opened to allow the vehicle to enter thecontainment device and to subsequently exit the containment device.

The wall supports may be straps that can be situated against either theoutside exterior surface of the side wall or against the interiorsurface of the side wall. The straps can give or flex when a vehicle ispushed against the side wall in order to allow the side wall to collapseso that the vehicle can then enter the containment device.

Another type of wall support includes a flexible hinge that is locatedoutside of the containment area. The wall support can be anchored to askirt that completely surrounds the side wall. An upper support membercan be attached to the hinge and to the side wall in order to supportthe side wall. The hinge may be biased to an initial at rest position inwhich the side wall is supported by the upper support member. When avehicle pushes against the side wall, the hinge will flex so that theupper support member is pressed flat. Once the vehicle drives over theside wall and is located within the containment area, the biased hingewill spring back into its initial position and thus the upper supportmember and the side wall will likewise move back into its at restposition. Once the maintenance, transfer, or other procedure isfinished, the vehicle can be driven back against the interior surface ofthe side wall. The biased hinge is capable of flexing 180° so that itcan flex outwards towards the skirt so that the upper support member andthe side wall can flex away from the containment area to allow thevehicle to exit the containment area. Although capable of supporting aside wall and allowing the side wall to collapse, current arrangementsare not robust in that they require a hinge that is biased and iscapable of flexing a great amount. As such, there remains room forvariation and improvement within the art.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A full and enabling disclosure of the present invention, including thebest mode thereof, directed to one of ordinary skill in the art, is setforth more particularly in the remainder of the specification, whichmakes reference to the appended Figs. in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a fluid containment apparatus inaccordance with one exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the fluid containment apparatus of FIG.1 in which a side wall is lowered into a collapsed state.

FIG. 3 is a side view of a wall support in accordance with one exemplaryembodiment.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the wall support of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a top view of the wall support of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a back view of a portion of a fluid containment apparatus thatincludes a wall support in accordance with one exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a bottom view of a portion of a fluid containment apparatusthat includes a wall support in accordance with one exemplaryembodiment.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 8-8 of FIG. 6.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a fluid containment apparatus inwhich the wall support is oriented in a collapsed position, and in whichthe side wall is oriented in a collapsed state.

Repeat use of reference characters in the present specification anddrawings is intended to represent the same or analogous features orelements of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF REPRESENTATIVE EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the invention,one or more examples of which are illustrated in the drawings. Eachexample is provided by way of explanation of the invention, and notmeant as a limitation of the invention. For example, featuresillustrated or described as part of one embodiment can be used withanother embodiment to yield still a third embodiment. It is intendedthat the present invention include these and other modifications andvariations.

It is to be understood that the ranges mentioned herein include allranges located within the prescribed range. As such, all rangesmentioned herein include all sub-ranges included in the mentionedranges. For instance, a range from 100-200 also includes ranges from110-150, 170-190, and 153-162. Further, all limits mentioned hereininclude all other limits included in the mentioned limits. For instance,a limit of up to 7 also includes a limit of up to 5, up to 3, and up to4.5.

The present invention provides for a fluid containment apparatus 10 thatis used to hold fluid that may be released when a vehicle 82 or otherobjects such as storage drums are located within the fluid containmentapparatus 10 and is worked upon. The present invention is also usefulfor applications involving mobile storage tankers. Mobile storagetankers and similar units, upon failure of a valve or seal, may resultin a significant loss of the fluid contents. For example, oil that isinadvertently spilled from a tanker or during an oil change or transferfrom a vehicle 82 can be contained by the apparatus 10 and preventedfrom damaging the ground 30, floor of a building, or other surface ontowhich the apparatus 10 is located. One or more wall supports 20 can beincluded in order to hold a side wall 14 in an upright position.

The vehicle 82 can be driven over the side wall 14 and this force may besufficient to allow the wall support 20 to move into a collapsedposition 26 along with the side wall 14 being moved to a collapsed state28. The vehicle 82 can then be located at the center of the uppersurface 64 of the floor 12 and maintenance or other procedures can beimparted thereto. The side wall 14 will remain in the collapsed state 28even after the weight of the vehicle 82 is removed. The user maymanually pull the wall support 20 back into the initial supportingposition 22 so that the side wall 14 is likewise moved into an uprightposition. The wall support 20 may be constructed so that it can movefrom an initial supporting position 22 to a collapsed position 26 andback, but not beyond the initial supporting position 22.

A fluid containment apparatus 10 in accordance with one exemplaryembodiment is illustrated in FIG. 1. The fluid containment apparatus 10includes a floor 12 that is surrounded by a side wall 14. The side wall14 may extend completely around the perimeter 18 of the floor 12, or mayextend around only a portion of the perimeter of the floor 12 in otherarrangements. The side wall 14 and floor 12 may be integrally formedwith one another or may be separate components. Further, the side wall14 itself and the floor 12 itself may be made of a single piece or maybe formed of multiple pieces in other arrangements. The floor 12 andside wall 14 can be made of a flexible, liquid impermeable material thathas good durability and chemical resistance characteristics. Inaccordance with one exemplary embodiment, the floor 12 and side wall 14may both be made of a modified vinyl or polyurethane coated wovensynthetic fabric. However, it is to be understood that the floor 12 andthe side wall 14 can be made out of various materials in other exemplaryembodiments and further may each be made out of different materials fromone another.

The side wall 14 is positioned in an upright manner such that the sidewall 14 and the floor 12, in particular the upper surface 64 of thefloor 12, define a containment area 16 of the fluid containmentapparatus 10. The containment area 16 is a space that represents theholding capacity of fluid of the fluid containment apparatus 10. Fluidmay thus be dispensed into the containment area 16 and held therein. Thecontainment area 16 has an open top 32. In this regard, the entire topof the containment area 16 is open. However, other arrangements arepossible in which a top is included and covers some or all of thecontainment area 16. A plurality of wall supports 20 are located aroundthe exterior of the side wall 14 and function to hold the side wall 14in the containment position 24 as illustrated in FIG. 1. Any number ofwall supports 20 can be used to hold the side wall 14 in the containmentposition 24. For example, from 1-5, from 6-10, from 11-30, or up to 100wall supports 20 may be used in various exemplary embodiments. While thefluid containment apparatus 10 may have a plurality of side walls 14,only a single side wall is required to have the wall supports 20. Theremaining side walls 14 may be supported by other conventional supports.In addition, only a portion of side wall 14 needs to define the wallsupports 20. Other portions of side wall 14 may employ other forms ofwall supports including but not limited to those as seen in U.S. Pat.Nos. 5,316,175, 5,762,233 and 6,880,720 and which are incorporatedherein by reference.

In use, a vehicle 82 can be driven to a position proximate the fluidcontainment apparatus 10. Force can be applied to the side wall 14and/or to one or more wall supports 20 that hold the portion of the sidewall 14. This force may be exerted by a user pressing or pulling on theside wall 14 and/or the wall supports 20. Such force will cause the wallsupport 20 or wall supports 20 to be moved from the initial supportingposition 22 illustrated in FIG. 1 to a collapsed position 26 as shown inFIG. 2. The attached side wall 14 is likewise moved to a collapsed state28 from the containment position 24 due to the movement of the wallsupport 20 or wall supports 20 via the applied force. The vehicle 82 canthen be driven onto the upper surface 64 of the floor 12 and located ata desired position on the floor 12. A user may subsequently apply areturning force to the wall support 20 or wall supports 20 to returnthem to the initial supporting position 22 shown in FIG. 1. Thisreturning force, like the initial force, may be asserted by a usersimply grasping the wall support 20 or wall supports 20 and pushing orpulling with his or her hand. Again, the side wall 14 will likewise bemoved back to the containment position 24 shown in FIG. 1 upon theapplication of the returning force. Any portion of a single side wall 14can be moved into the collapsed state 28 while any remaining amount ofthe side wall 14 remains in the initial containment position 24. In somearrangements, the entire side wall 14 is moved into the collapsed state28. The fluid containment apparatus 10 can be manipulated so that asufficient portion of the side wall 14 is moved to the collapsed state28 to allow the vehicle 82 or other object to be positioned into andremoved from the fluid containment apparatus 10 while the rest of theside wall 14 remains in the initial containment position 24.

Once the side wall 14 is returned back to the initial containmentposition 24, the maintenance procedure can be conducted on the vehicle82 and any spilled fluid can be held within the containment area 16.Upon completion of the maintenance procedure, the fluid can be removedand a portion of the side wall 14 can be returned to the collapsed state28 in order to allow the vehicle 82 to be driven or otherwise pushedfrom the floor 12. The user may manually apply sufficient force to causethe wall support 20 to be moved to the collapsed position 26 and henceallow the side wall 14 to be moved to the collapsed state 28 tofacilitate removal of the vehicle 82.

All of the wall supports 20 of the fluid containment apparatus 10 may becapable of moving from an initial supporting position 22 to a collapsedposition 26 and back. Alternatively, only some of the wall supports 20may be capable of this repositioning while the rest of the wall supports20 are not capable of the described repositioning. For example, thefluid containment apparatus 10 may be designed so that the vehicle 82 isto enter and leave from a single side of the apparatus 10. In thisregard, the wall supports 20 holding up this single side of theapparatus 10 may be capable of repositioning while the rest of the wallsupports 20 are not capable of repositioning because the portions of theside wall 14 held by these wall supports 20 do not need to collapse. Inother arrangements, the wall supports 20 at opposite ends of theapparatus 10 may be capable of being repositioned to allow the vehicle82 to enter and exit at either end. As such, it is to be understood thatall of the wall supports 20 may be made in an identical manner to oneanother in some embodiments, while in other embodiments not all of thewall supports 20 are made in the same way.

One exemplary embodiment of a wall support 20 is shown with reference toFIGS. 3-5. Here, the wall support 20 is shown in the initial supportingposition 22. The wall support 20 includes a base 34 that can be made ofa plastic material that is generally rigid while allowing for someamount of flexibility. The base 34 may be made of polyethylene orpolyurethane in accordance with certain exemplary embodiments. However,it is to be understood that the base 34 can be made out of variousmaterials. An inner support leg 36 may extend from the base 34 and canbe arranged so that it does not move or pivot with respect to the base34. The inner support leg 36 may be made of metal such as aluminum orsteel and can have a circular cross-section and a generally u-shape suchthat it defines with the base 34 a central opening. This constructionneed not be present in other embodiments in which the inner support leg36 can be a single solid piece without the presence of a defined centralopening. The inner support leg 36 may be attached to the base 34 by wayof a casting process such that the base 34 is cast around the innersupport leg 36. However, other arrangements are possible in which thebase 34 can be attached to the inner support leg 36 in a variety ofmanners. An outer support leg 60 may also be included and is attached tothe base 34 such that the base 34 and outer support leg 60 do not moverelative to one another. The outer support leg 60 may extend from thebase 34 in a direction that is completely opposite to the direction ofextension of the inner support leg 36 from the base 34. The outersupport leg 60 can be constructed and arranged in manners similar to theinner support leg 36 previously discussed and a repeat of thisinformation is not necessary. In some embodiments, the inner support leg36 and the outer support leg 60 may be a single, integral piece. Inother arrangements, the legs 36 and 60 along with the base 34 may be asingle, integral piece.

The wall support 20 includes a pivoting leg 38 that pivotally engagesthe base 34 such that the pivoting leg 38 can move with respect to thebase 34, inner support leg 36, and outer support leg 60. The pivotingleg 38 can be u-shape so that a central aperture is defined by thepivoting leg 38 and the base 34. A reinforcing cross-brace 84 can extendbetween the u-shaped portion of the pivoting leg 38 in order tostrengthen the pivoting leg 38 at this location and/or to ensure thedesired amount of bending and bending location of the pivoting leg 38 isachieved as desired. Although a single reinforcing cross-brace 84 isdisclosed, any number or none at all may be used in various exemplaryembodiments.

The pivoting leg 38 may also have a circular cross-sectional shape.However, the pivoting leg 38 may be variously configured in accordancewith other exemplary embodiments of the fluid containment apparatus 10.The pivoting leg 38 may be made of a metal such as steel or aluminum, ormay be made of plastic in certain exemplary embodiments. The base 34 maydefine a pair of curved horizontal receiving surfaces 56 and 58. The endportions of the pivoting leg 38 may each have curved outer surfaces andmay each be received onto the curved horizontal receiving surfaces 56and 58. The ends of the pivoting leg 38 may rest on top of the innersupport leg 36 so that they are retained onto the base 34 and are notallowed to fall out of the cavities defined by the curved horizontalreceiving surfaces 56 and 58. The engagement formed between the base 34,inner support leg 36, and the pivoting leg 38 is a pivot engagement inthat the pivoting leg 38 is held onto the base 34 and inner support leg36 yet allowed to pivot with respect to these components. However, it isto be understood that the pivoting leg 38 can be variously arranged withrespect to the base 34 so as to be allowed to pivot with respect to thebase 34 and that the disclosed arrangement is only one possible option.

The pivoting leg 38 is retained into a detent 44 of the base 34. Thedetent 44 functions to hold the pivoting leg 38 in the initialsupporting position 22 illustrated in FIGS. 3-5. The detent 44 is atleast partially defined by a wall 46 of the base 34. The detent 44 alsoincludes a pair of curved vertical recess surfaces 48 and 50 that mayextend to the upper surface of the base 34. The pivoting leg 38 may bearranged such that it engages both of the curved vertical recesssurfaces 48 and 50. The pivoting leg 38 may have a curved outer surfacethat is complimentary to the curvature of the curved vertical recesssurfaces 48 and 50. The detent 44 may also include a pair of lips 52 and54 that extend towards one another and extend beyond at least a portionof the pivoting leg 38 as may be more clearly seen with reference toFIG. 4. As disclosed, the lips 52 and 54 include material of the base 34whose position inhibit pivoting leg 38 from being released from thedetent 44. With the disclosed arrangement, the pivoting leg 38 is heldin the initial supporting position 22 and is not allowed to pivot withrespect to the base 34.

However, once it is desired to move the wall support 20 to the collapsedposition 26, the detent 44 and pivoting leg 38 are arranged toaccommodate such repositioning. Application of a sufficient amount offorce to the pivoting leg 38, for example upon being acted upon by theweight of a vehicle 82, causes the pivoting leg 38 to be snapped out ofthe detent 44 and subsequently allowed to pivot with respect to the base34. The sufficient amount of force may function to compress the lips 52and 54 thus allowing the pivoting leg 38 to have room sufficient to beforced beyond the lips 52 and 54 and hence out of the detent 44. In thisarrangement, the base 34 can be made of a material that has some degreeof inherent flexibility to allow the lips 52 and 54 to flex an amount toallow the pivoting leg 38 to pass.

Alternatively, the u-shaped construction of the pivoting leg 38 mayallow the pivoting leg 38 to compress upon the application of thesufficient amount of force. In this regard, the curved vertical recesssurfaces 48 and 50 in addition to, or alternatively to, the lips 52 and54 may have a wedge or inclined shape that facilitates the removal andinsertion of the pivoting leg 38 into and out of the detent 44. Theoppositely disposed portions of the pivoting leg 38 may be moved towardsone another upon the application of the sufficient amount of force andthe pressing of the pivoting leg 38 against the surfaces 48 and 50and/or lips 52 and 54. In this regard, the central opening defined bythe u-shaped pivoting leg 38 may become smaller due to the flexing ofthe opposite portions of the pivoting leg 38 to one another. Thepivoting leg 38 can then be moved beyond the lips 52 and 54 and out ofthe detent 44. The shape of the pivoting leg 38 allows it to flex. Inother arrangements of the wall support 20, the pivoting leg 38 may beremoved from the detent 44 via a combination of both flexing of the lips52 and 54 and flexing of the pivoting leg 38.

Once removed from the detent 44, the pivoting leg 38 is free to bepivoted with respect to the base 34 and the inner support leg 36. Thepivoting leg 38 may be capable of pivoting to the inner support leg 36and may be capable of touching the inner support leg 36. In order toreturn the pivoting leg 38 to the initial supporting position 22, areturn force can be applied that is sufficient to reinsert the pivotingleg 38 back into the detent 44. The same mechanisms, flexing of the lips52 and 54 in addition to or alternatively to flexing of the pivoting leg38, may be employed to return the pivoting leg 38 to the detent 44.

Other mechanisms or arrangements between the pivoting leg 38 and thebase 34 can be employed to maintain the orientation between thesecomponents and to also allow these components to move with respect toone another. For example, the lips 52 and 54 could be removed or couldbe modified so that they incorporate spring loaded detent pins or balls.The pivoting leg 38 and portions of the base 34, such as the lips 52 and54 if present, need not flex or move. The initial, stationary positionof the pivoting leg 38 can be maintained with respect to the base 34 asthe spring loaded detent pins or balls will prevent the pivoting leg 38from pivoting downward. However, the application of a sufficient amountof force to the pivoting leg 38 will cause the spring loaded detent pinsor balls to be recessed into the base 34. The pivoting leg 38 will thenmove past the spring loaded detent pins or balls and down into itscollapsed position. With such an arrangement, the plastic or othermaterial making up the base 34 and the pivoting leg 38 do not have toflex when movement of the pivoting leg 38 out of or into the supportingposition is desired. The only portions that would “flex” would be thespring loaded detent pins or balls and these would simply move in or outas necessary.

With reference now to FIG. 3, the pivoting leg 38 is located at an angle40 that is 90° to the inner support leg 36. However, in the initialsupporting position 22, the angle 40 may be different in other exemplaryembodiments. For example, the angle 40 may be 85°, 80°, 95°, 100°, 105°,from 75° to 120°, or up to 150° in accordance with other exemplaryembodiments of the fluid containment apparatus 10. The deployed angle 40may be any angle that provides for sufficient deployment of the sidewall(s) 14 so as to maintain the fluid containment apparatus 10 in afluid containing position. The wall 46 acts to limit the pivoting range62 of the pivoting leg 38 with respect to the base 34. In this regard,the pivoting leg 38 engages the wall 46 and is prevented from movingbeyond the wall 46. The wall 46 may be a vertical wall in one exemplaryembodiment thus preventing the pivoting leg 38 from moving beyond avertical orientation. The wall 46 or other mechanism designed to limitthe pivoting range 62 of the pivoting leg 38 may function as a block orstop to counteract pressure forces of the fluid in the containment area16 acting to expand the side wall 14 outwards. In this regard, pressureforces acting against the pivoting leg 38 may cause the pivoting leg 38to be forced against the wall 46 thus causing the wall 46 to preventfurther pivoting of the pivoting leg 38 and hence counter act theimparted pressure.

FIG. 6 shows the wall support 20 engaged with the side wall 14. A sidepocket 70 is included and is defined on the exterior surface 72 of theside wall 14. The side pocket 70 may be a piece of material that isattached to the exterior surface 72 and is open at a bottom end. Theside pocket 70 may be attached in a variety of manners. For example, theside pocket 70 may be attached to the side wall 14 through stitching,adhesion, or through the application of heat and pressure. In otherarrangements the side pocket 70 and the side wall 14 may be an integralpiece. The side pocket 70 may be sealed at its sides and top so that theonly opening into or out of the side pocket 70 is at the bottom. Thepivoting leg 38 may be inserted into the side pocket 70 through the openbottom and can be retained therein. The pivoting leg 38 may thus becompletely covered by the side pocket 70 and side wall 14 so that itcannot be seen during use. In some instances, the portion of thepivoting leg 38 proximate to the base 34 is visible. Although describedas being removably attached to the side wall 14, the pivoting leg 38 canbe permanently attached to the side wall 14 in other exemplaryembodiments. The pivoting leg 38 functions to hold the side wall 14 in avertical orientation. Forces that act on the side wall 14 will becounteracted by the support of the pivoting leg 38 to maintain the sidewall 14 in the containment position 24. However, as previously discussedwhen a sufficient amount of force is applied to the pivoting leg 38 in aparticular direction the pivoting leg 38 will move so as to cause aresulting movement of the side wall 14.

The base 34 is located proximate to and faces the exterior surface 72 ofthe side wall 14. In fact, the entire wall support 20 is located outsideof the containment area 16 when incorporated into the fluid containmentapparatus 10. In this instance, no portion of the wall support 20directly faces the upper surface 64 of the floor 12 or directly facesthe interior surface 74 of the side wall 14. However, it is to beunderstood that other arrangements are possible in which one or moreportions of the wall support 20 do in fact directly face the interiorsurface 74 and/or the upper surface 64 and are located within thecontainment area 16.

With reference now to FIG. 7, a bottom view of a portion of the fluidcontainment apparatus 10 is illustrated that shows a bottom pocket 68located on a lower surface 66 of the floor 12. The bottom pocket 68 maybe opened on an end that faces towards the side wall 14. The bottompocket 68 can be located on the lower surface 66 so that it is setinwards from the side wall 14 so that some amount of the lower surface66 without the bottom pocket 68 is present between the bottom pocket 68and the side wall 14. The bottom pocket 68 can be closed on all of itsends other than the open end that faces generally in the direction ofthe proximate side wall 14. The bottom pocket 68 may be made of the samematerial as the floor 12 and/or side wall 14 or can be made out of adifferent material. The bottom pocket 68 can be arranged and attached inthe same manners as the side pocket 70 previously discussed and a repeatof this information is not necessary. The inner support leg 36 may bedisposed within the bottom pocket 68 and held therein. The inner supportleg 36 engages the lower surface 66, and can be removed from the bottompocket 68 or may be configured so as to be permanently attached to thefloor 12.

The base 34 directly faces the exterior surface 72 of the side wall 12,and the end of the base 34 may in some instances contact the exteriorsurface 72. As disclosed in FIG. 7, the ends of the lips 52 and 54 ofthe base 34 in fact engage the exterior surface 72. However, it is to beunderstood that this engagement is not present in other exemplaryembodiments. An attachment strap 76 extends from the bottom pocket 68.The attachment strap 76 can be integrally formed with the bottom pocket68 and may be made of the same material. It is to be understood,however, that the attachment strap 76 need not be integrally formed withthe bottom pocket 68 or may be attached to a portion of the floor 12and/or side wall 14 other than at the bottom pocket 68. The attachmentstrap 76 is located under the base 34 and engages the bottom surface 78of the base 34. As such, the attachment strap 76 engages the bottomsurface 78 on one side and the ground 30 on another. The base 34 maythus not engage the ground 30 in certain arrangements. The attachmentstrap 76 may have a width that is less than or equal to the width of thebase 34. All of the portion of the attachment strap 76 that extendsbeyond the side wall 14 may be narrower than the portions of the wallsupport 20 that it engages such as the outer support leg 60, the base 34and/or the inner support leg 36. As such, the apparatus 10 may not havea skirt that surrounds the perimeter of the side wall 14. However, it isto be understood that other arrangements are possible in which a skirtis incorporated into the apparatus 10.

The attachment strap 76 extends around the terminal end of the outersupport leg 60 and back towards the base 34. An aperture snap 80 can beincluded on the attachment strap 76 which may be fastened by the user.The aperture snap 80 can be a mechanical fastener that is button like inshape but has an aperture through the center such as a grommet. Theattachment strap 76 is thus attached to the outer support leg 60. It isto be understood that the attachment strap 76 can be connected to theouter support leg 60 in a variety of manners and that the use of anaperture snap 80 is but one example. Further, the attachment strap 76need not be attached to the outer support leg 60 or even be present inother embodiments of the fluid containment apparatus 10.

A stake or other member can be inserted through the aperture of theaperture snap 80 in order to secure the wall support 20 to the ground orother structure. Engagement by the attachment strap 76 and insertion ofthe pivoting leg 38 and inner support leg 36 into the side pocket 70 andthe bottom pocket 68 facilitates attachment of the wall support 20 tothe side wall 14 and floor 12 and functions to anchor the wall support20 to these components. The wall support 20 can be removed from thefloor 12 and side wall 14 so that the fluid containment apparatus 10 canbe rolled up for storage or transport to a different location. In otherarrangements, the wall support 20 can be permanently attached to thefloor 12 and side wall 14 and may be folded up within the fluidcontainment apparatus 10.

The inner support leg 36 need not be removable from the bottom pocket 68in other arrangements. Additionally, the pivoting leg 38 need not beremovable from the side pocket 70 in other exemplary embodiments. Thebottom pocket 68 and the side pocket 70 can be heat welded so as tocapture the inner support leg 36 and pivoting leg 38 therein to renderthese components non-removable. Further, the outer support leg 60 andattachment strap 76 need not be present in certain exemplaryembodiments. The pivoting leg 38 and the inner support leg 36 can beremovable or non-removable from the pockets 70 and 68 when the outersupport leg 60 and attachment strap 76 are not present.

FIG. 8 shows a cross-sectional view taken along line 8-8 in FIG. 6 of aportion of the fluid containment apparatus 10 that includes the wallsupport 20 in the initial supporting position 22. FIG. 9 shows a similarcross-sectional view in which the pivoting leg 38 is pivoted to acollapsed position 26 and in which the side wall 14 is moved into acollapsed state 28. The pivoting range 62 may be from 0°-90°, from0°-100°, from 0°-75°, 0°-120° or from 0°-150° between the initialsupporting position 22 and the collapsed position 26 in accordance withcertain exemplary embodiments. The pivoting range 62 may be less than180°, less than 170°, or less than 160° in yet additional exemplaryembodiments. As such, certain exemplary embodiments exist in which thepivoting leg 38 is not capable of being pivoted 180°. Further, thepivoting leg 38 may not be capable of being pivoted beyond the verticalorientation as shown in FIG. 8 in a direction away from the uppersurface 64 of the floor 12. In this regard, the pivoting leg 38 may beable to pivot towards the upper surface 64 but cannot pivot away fromthe upper surface 64 to an extent beyond the vertical orientation.

Upon being moved to the collapsed state 28 as shown in FIG. 9, the sidewall 14 is located against the floor 12 such that the interior surface74 of the side wall 14 engages the upper surface 64 of the floor 12. Thepivoting leg 38 may be completely parallel to the inner support leg 36or may extend at an angle thereto due to the thickness of the side wall14 and the floor 12 located between the legs 36 and 38. The pivoting leg38 may remain inside of the side pocket 70 even when moved to thecollapsed position 26. Once the force necessary to pivot the pivotingleg 38 to the collapsed position 26 has been removed, the pivoting leg38 and the side wall 14 may remain in the positions shown in FIG. 9. Thepivoting leg 38 is unbiased and will not function to move to aparticular position. Frictional engagement between the pivoting leg 38and the lips 52 and 54 of the base 34 may function to control the easeof pivoting of the leg 38 with respect to the base 34 so that someamount of force is necessary to pivot the leg 38. If force is removed,the pivoting leg 38 may remain in a particular position with respect tothe base 34 due to the frictional engagement between the pivoting leg 38and the lips 52 and 54. Some amount of force may be necessary to furthereffect pivoting of the pivoting leg 38.

In order to return the pivoting leg 38 and the side wall 14 to theorientation shown in FIG. 8 from that shown in FIG. 9, the user mustapply some amount of returning force to the pivoting leg 38 as thepivoting leg 38 is not inherently biased to the initial supportingposition 22. The user may manually grasp the side pocket 70, pivotingleg 38, and side wall 14 and lift these portions upwards and away fromthe upper surface 64 of the floor 12. Other types of force may be usedinstead of manual lifting by the user to cause this return. A sturdierand more robust design may exist when some type of force must be appliedto the pivoting leg 38 in order to affect its return. The fluidcontainment apparatus 10 is thus capable of retaining fluid within thecontainment area 16 when the side wall 14 is in the containment position24, and is capable of allowing a vehicle 82 or other object to be movedonto and off of the floor 12 by way of having the side wall 14 fold downto allow such entry and exit.

Although shown and described as being on the exterior of the floor 12and side wall 14, it is to be understood that other arrangements arepossible in which the wall support 20 directly faces or engages theinterior surface 74 of the side wall and/or the upper surface 64 of thefloor 12. The wall support 20 may be located in the containment area 16in accordance with other exemplary embodiments of the fluid containmentapparatus.

While the present invention has been described in connection withcertain preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the subjectmatter encompassed by way of the present invention is not to be limitedto those specific embodiments. On the contrary, it is intended for thesubject matter of the invention to include all alternatives,modifications and equivalents as can be included within the spirit andscope of the following claims.

What is claimed:
 1. A fluid containment apparatus, comprising: a floor;a side wall that with the floor at least partially defines a containmentarea for fluid; and a wall support that supports the side wall, whereinthe wall support has an initial supporting position in which the sidewall is held in a containment position so as to at least partiallydefine with the floor the containment area, wherein the wall support ismoveable to a collapsed position in which the side wall is located in acollapsed state such that the containment area defined in the initialsupporting position is no longer defined, wherein the wall support issubsequently movable from the collapsed position back to the initialsupporting position but is not movable beyond the initial supportingposition from the collapsed position, the wall support further defininga base and an inner support leg that extends from the base, wherein thewall support has a pivoting leg that pivots with respect to the base,wherein the base and the inner support leg remain in the same locationwhen the wall support is in both the initial supporting position and inthe collapsed position, and wherein the pivoting leg changes locationswhen the wall support is moved from the initial supporting position tothe collapsed position, and the base defines a detent that holds thepivoting leg when the wall support is in the initial supportingposition, wherein when a sufficient amount of force is applied to thepivoting leg the pivoting leg is forced out of the detent so as to pivotwith respect to the base towards the inner support leg, and wherein whenthe wall support is in the collapsed position and is subsequentlymovable back to the initial supporting position sufficient force appliedto the pivoting leg causes the pivoting leg to be forced back into thedetent to be held by the detent.
 2. The fluid containment apparatus asset forth in claim 1, wherein the side wall completely surrounds theperimeter of the floor such that the floor and the side wall completelydefine the containment area, wherein the containment area has an opentop.
 3. The fluid containment apparatus as set forth in claim 1, whereinthe side wall when in the collapsed state is closer to the floor thanwhen the side wall is in the containment position.
 4. The fluidcontainment apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the pivoting legis hinged to the base such that the pivoting leg is in a verticalorientation when the wall support is in the initial supporting positionsuch that the pivoting leg extends at an angle of 90° to the innersupport leg, and wherein the pivoting leg pivots from the verticalorientation when moved to the collapsed position such that the pivotingleg extends at an angle that is no greater than 10° to the inner supportleg when the wall support is in the collapsed position.
 5. The fluidcontainment apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the pivoting legcannot pivot with respect to the base an amount greater than 100°. 6.The fluid containment apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein thewall support has an outer support leg that extends from the base in adirection of extension opposite to that of the direction of extension ofthe inner support leg from the base, wherein the outer support legremains in the same location when the wall support is in both theinitial supporting position and in the collapsed position.
 7. The fluidcontainment apparatus as set forth in claim 6, further comprising: abottom pocket located on a lower surface of the floor, wherein the innersupport leg is at least partially located in the bottom pocket; a sidepocket located on an exterior surface of the side wall, wherein thepivoting leg is at least partially located in the side pocket; and anattachment strap that extends from the bottom pocket and is attached tothe outer support leg, wherein the attachment strap is located under thebase such that a bottom surface of the base engages the attachmentstrap.